Kasey Kahne a favorite to win the 500?

With about a month left until the Daytona 500, everybody has been wondering. Who is going to win the 500 in 2011? Who is going to be the first driver to win the first points race of the new season? The Daytona 500 is one of those races that NASCAR drivers want to be able to check off ‘running in the Daytona 500’ off their bucket lists. Can everyone think back to 2009? Rookie Joey Logano was making his first Daytona 500 at the age of 18. He’s been the youngest driver to start a Cup race from that day to November 7^th, 2010 when Trevor Bayne made his Sprint Cup debut. Two more rookie drivers will race in their first Daytona 500, Trevor Bayne and Steve Wallace. Who is most likely to win the Daytona 500? Jimmie Johnson? Jeff Gordon? Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Surprisingly, none of them won the poll. Red Bull Racing’s one-year driver Kasey Kahne won the poll. I was completely surprised. Kasey won in a land-slide, a whopping 14 votes from the 47 total votes cast. 17 drivers were nominated.

Results:

Kasey Kahne: 14

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 5

Jeff Gordon: 5

Denny Hamlin: 4

Kyle Busch: 3

Tony Stewart: 3

Kevin Harvick: 2

Jamie McMurray: 2

Ryan Newman: 1

Carl Edwards: 1

Clint Bowyer: 1

Mark Martin: 1

Brian Vickers: 1

Bobby Labonte: 1

Jimmie Johnson: 1

Michael Waltrip: 1

Jeff Burton: 1

I got everyone from Jimmie Johnson to Michael Waltrip (Who both got a vote each), Mark Martin (my vote) to Kyle Busch. Yeah, I voted for Mark Martin. Me, a die-hard Kasey Kahne fan, voted for Martin. Out of all the drivers that her nominated, 7 drivers (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Michael Waltrip) have won the 500 before. In the last nine Daytona 500s, there have been nine winners. Will someone who hasn’t won yet (Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch) win or will someone who has won win it? There is only one thing to do! Check out the Daytona 500 February 20^th, on FOX. Good luck to every one!